Phytoplankton list of taxa and cell biovolume from a subtropical coastal lagoon, South America

We share information about the phytoplankton community from a subtropical coastal lagoon, Laguna de Rocha, a Biosphere Reserve, located in Uruguay, South America (34°37'60" S, 54°18'0" W). The lagoon is ~ 72 km2 with a mean depth of 0.5 m, and is characterized by a strong South-North salinity gradient that reflects its intermittent connection to the Atlantic Ocean (in the South). The lagoon has been subject to eutrophication in the last several decades. The dataset presented here belongs to the publication of Bonilla et al., 2005 (doi.org/10.1007/BF02696017). We present the complete list of phytoplankton taxa identified in a survey (1996-2000) for two sites, South and North, locations described in figure 1 (Bonilla et al., 2005). We also presented the cellular linear measurements and the cell biovolume of the most representative taxa. We believe these data are useful for the scientific community interested in phytoplankton dynamics, diversity and calculation of biomass (biovolume).